Arson charge follows nighttime chase

TWIN FALLS — A 56-year-old man was charged with first-degree arson, possessing destructive devices and eluding after, police say, he started a house fire and led officers on a chase Tuesday night.

Just after 10 p.m., Lamont J. Dewitt of Twin Falls was heard yelling threats, then threw something at a house that started a fire, a police statement said. Police later reported finding several bottles containing flammable liquid inside Dewitt’s car.

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Residents put out the fire before police arrived, and no one was injured. Dewitt had fled, and officers found him driving south in the 1000 block of Blue Lakes Boulevard North. He refused to stop when police tried to pull him over, but police deployed spike sticks at Eastland Drive North and Falls Avenue. Dewitt stopped in the parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple on Eastland, where he was arrested.

Dewitt is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Friday afternoon, and a preliminary hearing is set Jan. 13.

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